Department of Educational Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Centro Italiano Aiuti all'Infanzia (CIAI), Genoa, Italy.
Clin Psychol Psychother. 2023 Sep-Oct;30(5):1130-1145. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2862. Epub 2023 May 31.
Compared to community adolescents (COM), adolescents placed in residential care (RC) or late adopted (LA) appear to show more emotional-behavioural problems. They also appear vulnerable in variables linked to emotional-behavioural problems, such as insecure-disorganized attachment and alexithymia. This study employs a mixed-method multi-informant approach to (1) compare adolescents placed in RC, LA and COM in emotional-behavioural problems, attachment and alexithymia and (2) investigate relationships and interplay of attachment and alexithymia concerning emotional-behavioural problems in these three groups.
Participants were 174 adolescents (50 RC, 33 LA and 91 COM; M = 15, 53% boys and 47% girls). Adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed through both caregiver-reported and self-reported questionnaires, while attachment and alexithymia were assessed with a mixed method, using interviews and self-report questionnaires.
The results showed RC adolescents as more vulnerable in all variables, while LA and COM did not differ. Accounting for the group, attachment and alexithymia cumulatively predicted 25-43% of internalizing problems, and 19-43% of externalizing problems depending on the method of assessment or problems' informant (all p < 0.01). Alexithymia was both an independent predictor and interacted with preoccupied attachment in predicting internalizing problems, while no predictors were isolated for externalizing ones, and the group never indicate an effect on problems' rates.
The authors discuss the utility to maintain a research focus on attachment and alexithymia, also suggesting future directions of research. A need to determine potential distortions of results because of problems' informant and method of assessment is also highlighted.
与社区青少年（COM）相比，居住在收容所（RC）或后期收养（LA）的青少年似乎表现出更多的情绪行为问题。他们在与情绪行为问题相关的变量中也显得脆弱，例如不安全的非组织化依恋和述情障碍。本研究采用混合方法多信息源方法，（1）比较 RC、LA 和 COM 青少年的情绪行为问题、依恋和述情障碍，（2）研究这三组青少年中依恋和述情障碍与情绪行为问题的关系和相互作用。
参与者为 174 名青少年（50 名 RC、33 名 LA 和 91 名 COM；M = 15，53%男孩和 47%女孩）。通过照顾者报告和自我报告问卷评估青少年的内化和外化问题，而使用访谈和自我报告问卷评估依恋和述情障碍。
结果表明，RC 青少年在所有变量中都更加脆弱，而 LA 和 COM 则没有差异。考虑到组间差异，依恋和述情障碍共同预测了 25-43%的内化问题，以及 19-43%的外化问题，具体取决于评估方法或问题报告者（均 p < 0.01）。述情障碍既是内化问题的独立预测因子，也是与关注型依恋的相互作用预测因子，而外化问题没有预测因子，且组间差异不影响问题发生率。
作者讨论了维持对依恋和述情障碍的研究重点的实用性，同时也提出了未来的研究方向。还强调了需要确定因问题报告者和评估方法而导致的结果扭曲的可能性。
